Dry ore separator



(o Modell) P. W. BEARDON DRY ORE' SBPARATOR. No. 276.71m Patented May 1,1883.i

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y UNITED STATES PATENT @Tricia PATRICK w. nnAnnoN, or sAN Jose, CALIFORNIA.

DR Y ORE SEPARATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 276,710, dated May 1, 1883.

Application filed February 10, 1883. (No model.)

To all `whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PATRICK W. REARDCN, of San Jos, county of Santa Clara, State of California, have invented an Improved Dry Ore Separator; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in dry ore separators. These improvements relate particularly to that Class of separators shown in Letters Patent No. 263,808, issued to me September 5, 1882; and

it consists in sundry details ot' constructioln,

all of which will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

The object of my invention is to effect a greater saving of the precious portions of the ore.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of my machine. Fig; 2 is an end View of the riffle-box. Fig. 3 is a. lhorizontal section taken on lineY Z, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a detail, showing means for vertically adjusting the lid of the riflile-box. Fig. 5 is a detail section, showing the hopper-regulating mechanism and the connection with rifdefbox.

A A represents the frame of the machine, at one end of which are posts B, from which is suspended the ritBe-box C, by meansof spring hangers c, to allow a vibration to be imparted to said riftle-box. This riflie-box consists of a three-sided open-ended frame, a, and a lid, b. The bottom of the frame is provided with a broken surface formed by a series of angular cross-pieces or riftles, d, formed in one piece, or separately, in such manner as to present a short steep face and a longer gentle incline opposite. They resemble right-angle triangles lying upon the hypotenuse, as shown.

Across the face of each riiiie, near its top, is secured a cleat, el', for the heavier material to lodge against. The cover or lid b is a fiat piece provided near each side, underneath,

with longitudinal grooves b', for iitting down over the sides of the box below, Fig. 4. In the sides of the box, under these grooves,'are small screws e, which, when turned down, allow the lid to tit down fully, and when turned up raise it somewhat to narrow or widen the passage above the rifties, for a purpose I shall explain, Fig. 4.

l Mounted in the frame, under the rifie-box, is

a cross-shaft, D, to which power is to be ap-` plied by any suitable means.

This shaft has an eceentric,f, near each end, with which are connected the pitmen E, the other ends of which are secured to the rear under side ot' the riffle-box. By these means a longitudinal vibration is imparted to the riflle-box.

Set upon the front portion ot' the frame A is a box, F, the top of which inclines downwardly to the front, its sides converging to the front. In the rear the box is of equal width with the riftle-box; but at the front it is much smaller, because of its inclined top and converging sides. Across its rear is made a slot, g. A wide dat pipe, G, connects'the front open end of the riflie-box with the box F through slot g. This connection is here shown as made by providing each end of the pipe G with anges hand clamping said anges between blocks H, secured upon the front of the riffic-box and upon the rear end ot box F, as shown, Fig. 5. The box F being stationary and the riftle-box having a vibratory movement, it will be seen that this connecting-pipe G must be elastic or extensible. For this reason I now construct it ot' rubber, though any suitable elastic or yielding material might answer; or it might be made otherwise and .rendered extensible by means of suitable mechanical devices.

Within the box F, which simply serves as a protector, is a wind-box, I. This consists of a bottom anda top of the same shape as and let into the sides ot' box F, in order to use said sides to form its own sides. Both bottom and top are inclined upwardly toward the front, though thetop has the greater inclination, thus making the box lower at the rear than in front. This box has therefore a wide back and a narrow front, because of its con verging sides, and it has also a shallow back and a deep front, because ofthe different inclinations of top and bottom. The rear edgeofits bottoni is brought right up to thc lower edge ofthe slot g in box F; but its top is stopped short to allow the entrance of the base of the ore-hopper J. This hopper may be formed separate from the box F, or it may be formed within it by means of an inclined back board,j. The lower edge ot' this board comes down tothe forward edge of the top of wind-box I.

The ore in the hopper IOL) ` wallj, through a stationary nut, I, above, andV passes through its base down into the rear end of the wind-box, immediately behind the slot or aperture g.

In order to regulate the feed of ore I have the followingf' The' lower portion of the wall j is cut out, and has fitted upon it a sliding plate, 7c, the lower edge of which is cut on a bevel to enable it to lie flush against the vertical wall of the hopper when pushed down far enough, Fig. 5.

K is' a threaded bolt, connected with the top ofthe sliding plate 7c by mean's of a-swivel nut orjoint. It passes up through a socketin the is provided with a handle or crank-wheel on top. By means of this bolt the sliding plate 7s may be adjusted up or down to open the base of the hopper to its full width, to close it completely, or to regulate the opening as desired. An overlapping plate or strip, p, covers the joint of the sliding plate 7a.

L is a blower driven by suitable power, ant connected with the front end of the wind-box I.

It will be seen that the riftle-box has a downward inclination to the rear, likewise the connecting-pipe G and the wind-box I. This facilitates the operation of the device, which is as follows: Ore is placed in the hopper. and

its discharge is regulated by the adjustable plate k. The wind (a constant blast) is forced into the wind-box, and, by reason of the shape of said box, spreads itselt' laterally, while contracting vertically, so that its force is equalized upon the body of ore in front of it and its full effect delivered to drive it through the slot or aperture g and down through connectingpipe G into the rife-box. This box, having a vibratory movement, tends to settle the ore, so that the steady current of air passing along the upper portion of the box will carry oft' the light particles. It' any of the heavier particles are caught, they will not be carried far before theyare lodged below the cleats d on the rifdes d.

In this device the air-current is not employed for effecting the actual separation by driving the lighter portions up an incline which proves too steep for the heavier portions, but for the purpose ot' providing a means for carrying ofI" such lighter portions as may be kept within its iniluence by the vibration ofthe box. For this reason the upper portion of the passage through the box is smooth, and not tortuous, so thatthe may be caught by the steady blast passing through above from being carried away.

By the vertical adjustment of the lid ofthe riffle-box, heretofore referred to, I increase or diminish the air-passage through the box in order to regulate the force ofthe wind at different periods of the operation, or at different points in the rittle-box. The box F protects the wind-box, and by its sloping top F pre vents dbris from lodging upon it.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim las new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a dry ore separator, the rifile-box C, consisting ot' thethree-sided open-ended frame a, having riflies d, and the cover or lid b, and the means for vertically adjusting said cover, consisting ot' the screws ein the sides of the frame a and the grooves b' in the cover, substantially as and for the purpose herein described.

2. In a dry ore separator, the vibrating rifleboX C, in combination withthe stationary ore-hopper J, the wide rubber pipe- G, connecting the two, and means for forcing an air-current through said pipe to carry the ore into the riffie-box, substantially as herein described.

3. In a dry ore separator, the vibrating rit'- ile-box (l, an orefeeding device, blast-producing means, and-a connecting-pipe, in combination with the wind-box l, the sides of which converge to the rear, while the top and bottom converge to the front, whereby is formeda wide shallow front opening communicating with the connecting-pipe, and a narrow deep rearopeningcommunicating with themeansfor forcing an air-current into said box, substantially as herein described.

4. ln a dry ore separator, the ore-hopper J, provided with the sliding regulating-plate lr, and the screw K,in combination wit-h the windbox I, the vibratingriftle-box C, andthe elastic pipe G, connecting the riftle-box with the windbox and ore-hopper, substantially as herein de scribed.

In witness whereof I hereunto set my hand.

PATRICK WILLIAM REARDO. Witnesses:

J. S. CARTER, S. W. CHURCHILL. 

